This form of the sunshine vitamin may fend off Alzheimer’s Disease

To truly age gracefully, preserving your mental ability is as important as staying physically fit. The dietary choices you make now can have a significant impact on how the passage of time affects you. One of the most mentally destructive conditions facing millions of older Americans today is Alzheimer's disease, the degenerative disorder that causes severe memory loss and disorientation, ultimately limiting your quality of life.

Because of the severity of the condition, medical experts across the globe have been working to identify genetic and environmental factors that could increase the risk of its development. And, last week, researchers from Kingston University in London revealed that Alzheimer's risk may be linked to the intake of vitamin D2 – a form of the "sunshine vitamin" that can be found in fish.

A press release from the educational facility states that the researchers took blood samples from a group of elderly individuals that included patients with Alzheimer's disease who were actively receiving treatment, those were not and people who had not developed the disorder at all. The researchers sought to establish any commonalities among the samples that could provide insight on how to treat the disease.

The scientists unearthed that people with Alzheimer's who had not sought medical help to address it had much lower levels of vitamin D2 – from minimal amounts to none at all – compared to both those without the disorder and patients who were taking medication.

"Further investigations are now needed to determine whether simple dietary advice or giving a specific supplement could restore beneficial levels in Alzheimer's patients," said Professor Declan Naughton, one of the head researchers on the study.

In addition to eating foods rich in beneficial nutrients like vitamin D, people who hope to stay healthy and happy well into their twilight years can turn to the anti-aging doctors at Longevity Centres of America, who offer invigorating treatments like hormone pellet therapy.